


Frail Teacups

by picometre



Category: Ensemble Stars! (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-22
Updated: 2017-03-02
Packaged: 2018-09-26 07:26:06
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,565
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9873266
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/picometre/pseuds/picometre
Summary: In an all-out battlefield where morals are out of question, who shall come on top?[Mob AU]





	1. War Declaration

Eichi Tenshouin liked to drink a cup of tea at night. It was a sort of ritual, a source of comfort, especially on days during which he had felt more tired than usual. The drink allowed him to forget about his ill body, at least for a single minute, before he had to be pulled back to Earth by his aching body’s need for rest.  
He also enjoyed listening to the radio while drinking tea. He would stick to stations playing jazz or classical music. Sometimes, he would close his eyes and relax, letting the music on the radio resonate within him and soothe him. Nights where he would enjoy such simple things were his very own moments of peace which he dearly treasured.

That night, however, was different. Eichi’s brief moment of peace was interrupted when he heard a knock on his room’s door. He let out a sigh, mentally preparing himself to discuss bothersome business-related matters, and addressed whoever could have been standing behind the door.

“Come in.”

One of Eichi’s bodyguards came into the room.

“Boss, a certain Hibiki Wataru would like to talk to you.”

_Wataru Hibiki_. Eichi couldn’t recall in which context he had heard the name, but he knew for sure the name was familiar to him. He was wary about the visitor, but he was also filled with a morbid curiosity that wanted to know what could possibly be discussed with that Hibiki.  
Eventually, Eichi found a way to satisfy both his need for safety and his curiosity.

“Let him come in, but tell the other guard to come in as well. I want you both to stay close and keep an eye on that man.”

The guard did as he was told, and soon a man came into the room accompanied by Eichi’s second bodyguard.  
The man had long light blue hair and purple eyes. Eichi couldn’t stop looking at how he not only had a braid on the left side of his hair but also had most of said left side of his hair done up in a bun. All of that done while the rest of his hair flowed freely. It was almost ridiculous.  
The more Eichi looked at the man, the more he couldn’t shake off the feeling something was indeed familiar about him. Perhaps it was his ridiculous hair, or just his overall attitude, but Eichi definitely knew he had seen that man before. He simply couldn’t remember in which circumstances their potential meeting had happened.

“Hello, Eichi.”

The man greeted Eichi with a smile. Eichi couldn’t help but be ticked off by the way he was talking. It was much too… casual.

“Are we equals? I don’t remember allowing someone like you to call me by my first name.”  
“I’m not sure ‘equal’ is a word that can be used to refer to us, indeed. I am no leader, I am merely an actor led by the wind of my desires. But we have talked before, and we are going to talk like this a million more times. Thus, I judged convenient for us to already establish some sort of… familiarity between us.”  
Eichi smiled. “You are a confident man, aren’t you? Talking to me so casually and assuming I’ll let you talk to me again in the future. However...” Eichi paused as a side of him hesitated, but his interest in the newcomer took over him. “I deem your reasoning fair. I’ll allow you to refer to me however you want. If you manage to keep my interest more than you already have, that is.”

They both looked at each other in silence for a short moment. Then, Eichi broke the silence, pointing to a seat in front of him.

“Sit down, Wataru.”

Wataru sat down, a satisfied smile visible on his face.

“Let’s get to something that has been bothering me. You claim that we have talked before. I believe you because you do look familiar to me, but frankly, I don’t remember when and where we could have met and talked.”  
“Doubting my words…” Wataru let out a chuckle. “I expected it. But for the sake of the conversation, I’ll try to refresh your memories. Do you remember the play you watched two months ago?”  
Eichi raised an eyebrow. “The play?”  
“ _The Magician’s Resolve_. It was shown during the grand opening of the Starlight Theater.”

Now memories were coming back to Eichi. He had gone to the theater’s opening ceremony solely because of the media coverage he would get. A wealthy businessman being interested in his city’s building inaugurations was enough to temporarily draw suspicion away from him. After all, it would be bothersome if the fact he was the mastermind behind _fine_ was leaked. Fortunately, corruption and torture were handy means of getting rid of eventual rats.   
On the Starlight Theater’s grand opening, Eichi had been more bothered by whether or not the cocaine he had had imported would reach the country safely enough than what was going on during the ceremony itself.   
As for his meeting with Wataru… looking more at him, Eichi was now remembering Wataru was part of the troupe that had performed the play. He was the only actor he deemed worthy of being called an actor in the troupe, too. The rest of his troupe mates had been awful. Eichi went to Wataru himself to congratulate him on his performance. It was interrupted when Eichi had to leave due to a call from Tori.

“I remember now. Huge events like the grand opening tend to exhaust me easily, it’s not surprising I would forget about it.”  
“Are you sure?” Pause. Eichi felt slightly alarmed at Wataru’s sudden change of tone. “Wasn’t it because something else was on your mind?” Wataru smirked. “Something that could possibly trap you in a dead end if it didn’t go as expected?”

Eichi looked at Wataru silently for a long moment, trying to hide how he was currently disturbed as best as he could. Did… did Wataru notice who the call was from? Or could he tell Eichi was secretly trying to manage an operation during the ceremony? Scrap that, did Wataru know about his links to _fine_? And if he did, what exactly did he know about? The drug networks? The weapons trafficking? The corruption and everything more or less related to his mob? More importantly, _who_ exactly was the man sitting in front of him?  
Eichi snapped out of his thoughts when Wataru burst into laughter.

“Looks like my line has really done an effect on you! Don’t worry, it’s just for the next play I will be playing in. Call it a live rehearsal, if you may.”  
Eichi sighed in relief, but couldn’t stop thinking of Wataru as being odd.  
“Just kidding. I know who you truly are, Eichi. Or should I say _fine’s Emperor_?”  
Eichi was tense, but tried to stay relatively calm. “Who… are you?”  
“Who am I?” Pause. “I am anyone and no one at the same time. A true actor’s condition is to--”  
“Cut the bullshit. Who are you? Who sends you here? What’s your goal?”  
“Ah, it seems I have finally been overstaying my welcome here. But I’ll answer your questions truthfully. I am an actor led by the wind of my desires. This wind, inspired by the Vampire King, pushed me to come meet you. The true aim of my visit is to deliver a warning from the Vampire King himself.”  
“Vampire King? You mean, _that_ Vampire King?”  
Wataru laughed. “Who else could it be? You may have killed him once, but he has come back from the dead to haunt you and drag you to Hell with him. Kill him twice, and he’ll still come back anew to bring everything you know down to ruin. Such is the Vampire King’s wrath.” Pause. “Prepare yourself, Emperor. The King’s army will come for you eventually.”

Wataru got up and walked up to the exit. He turned to face Eichi once again, said, “Until we meet again, Emperor,” and finally left.

Eichi could do nothing but watch as Wataru left. He could have told his bodyguards to catch the man and execute him, but that would have been a direct declaration of war to the Vampire King. Besides, Eichi could tell that Wataru would be his only means of communicating with the enemy until he had found something else. The Emperor could do nothing else but prepare his Empire for the war that could ravage it.  
He was fucked.


	2. Recruit

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A new guy joins the police.

That morning, Subaru crashed into the police station beaming with joy.

“Hey everyone! Guess what I found on the way to work!”

Hokuto, his work colleague, sighed and looked at him while sipping on some coffee. “You’re late, Akehoshi,” he said between two sips.  
“Come on, Hokke, I had a good reason to be late today!”  
Hokuto raised an eyebrow. “Which is?”  
Subaru pulled out a small silver coin from his pocket. “This! It’s pretty and shiny, isn’t it?”  
Hokuto looked silently at Subaru for a short moment. Then, he said, “I don’t know what I expected from you. We have to solve the injustice the mobs bring about and--”  
“Come on, Hidaka-kun, don’t start lecturing him.” Makoto, Subaru’s other work colleague, interrupted Hokuto. “You should be glad that he hasn’t changed despite the times we’re living in.”  
“Perhaps, yet I can’t help but worry that one day Akehoshi will get into trouble for acting like an idiot. We are policemen, not schoolboys.”  
“By the way,” Subaru said, looking around the room, “where’s Sari?”  
“Isara is investigating on his own as usual today.” Hokuto replied. “Thankfully, I don’t have to worry as much about him as I have to with both of you.” Pause. “Either way, a new recruit should be arriving later today. I plan to show--”

The station phone suddenly rang and Hokuto immediately answered it. After a few brief replies, the call ended and Hokuto got up with a gloomy look on his face.

“It’s happening even in the morning now.”  
“Huh? What’s happening?” Subaru asked.  
“A shooting took place near here. I’ll go check for any casualties and witnesses. If possible, I’ll try to catch the shooter. Akehoshi, Yuuki, I count on both of you to take care of the station and the new recruit while I’m away.”  
“Wait, Hidaka-kun,” Makoto said, “the shooter is still on the loose, and if people were killed, they surely won’t hesitate to kill you as well. Someone has to go with you to back you up.”  
“Hm, you’ve got a point, but someone needs to stay here in case the new recruit comes.”  
Makoto sighed. “You’ve got a point as well. Alright, I’ll stay here as usual. I’m not as valuable as you guys, so I can take care of the paperwork and the new recruit.”  
“Ukki...”  
“Akehoshi, I suppose you’ll come with me, won’t you?” Hokuto asked.  
“Yes, I’ll come!”  
“Okay, let’s not lose anymore time.”

Hokuto left after saying that, followed by Subaru.

Now that he was alone, Makoto thought about what he would have to do during the day.  
“Take care of the paperwork and the new recruit, huh…”  
Hokuto didn’t bother telling him the new recruit’s name. How was he supposed to know who he should be supposed to welcome as a new work colleague? Although, if someone came into the room and stated they were the new recruit, they would probably be honest… maybe. It was only when Makoto looked at his own desk that he remembered Hokuto often left sticky notes on his desk. With some chance, he’d probably be able to see the recruit’s name on one of them.  
He eyed what was on Hokuto’s desk. It was always tidy except for the fact that multiple sticky notes were stuck on a corner of it. Some of the notes listed trivial things, such as _“Buy carrots for dinner”_ , but some also listed work-related tasks, such as _“Find whereabouts of Mrs. Tetsuhara’s car”_. After searching for a short moment, Makoto found the note of his interest: _“Show new recruit Fushimi around”._  
So their name is Fushimi. Now, Makoto found himself with nothing else to do than resume his usual work until the recruit showed up. He prepared himself a cup of coffee and couldn’t help but sigh as the hot drink was being made. The day would be long and boring, but it was the sort of comforting routine he had come to accept after having changed jobs.  
_Damn._ Merely thinking about his previous job reminded him of things much bitter than the coffee he was about to drink. He gulped down his coffee as fast as possible, then grabbed a pile of paperwork to keep him busy, hoping that he would soon forget about those unpleasant memories.

Fortunately for him, he didn’t have to focus too hard on paperwork as someone had come into the station. It was a tall man with dark blue hair. Looking more closely at him, Makoto could see that he had a mole under his right eye. The man was waiting at the entrance. He could see Makoto from the place where he stood, but he made no sound nor gesture. Instead, he was still patient and had a serene smile on his face as he looked right at Makoto.  
Makoto finished up a few things before he got up and greeted the man.

“Welcome, Mister. What are you here for? Would I be wrong if I said it’s not for a complaint?”  
“Indeed, I’m not here for a complaint.” Pause. “My name is Fushimi Yuzuru. I’ve been recruited here, and this is supposed to be my first day working here.”  
“Oh, Fushimi-kun! The big head of this station, Hidaka-kun, isn’t here right now, but for the time being, I’ll take care of you and show you what your job will be here. By the way, I’m Yuuki Makoto. Nice to meet you!” Makoto shook Yuzuru’s hand.  
“Nice to meet you as well. I’m looking forward to working with you, Yuuki-sama.”

Makoto froze for a few seconds. _Yuuki-sama…?_ He laughed awkwardly and looked away before talking again.

“Y-You know… we’re going to be work colleagues, so you don’t need to be so formal.”  
“Excuse me, Yuuki-sama–- _san_. Yuuki-san. My previous profession was a lot more different than a policeman’s job, so sometimes I slip a bit out of habit.”  
“What kind of job were you even doing before, for you to speak so formally?”  
Yuzuru got a bit embarrassed. “Ah… I’d rather not talk about it. I’m relieved it’s over, that’s all.”  
“It’s okay, I understand.” Makoto smiled. “I’m pretty much in the same boat as you. Trying to forget about previous jobs and all that…” Pause. “Anyway, let’s not wait anymore, I’ll show you around!”

Makoto invited Yuzuru to follow him through the station. When they were done with their little tour, Makoto pointed to a desk with a computer and said, “There, this is going to be your desk.” Pause. “By the way, I should also tell you about our other work colleagues in the station. There’s Hidaka-kun, our chief, Akehoshi-kun, a fun but really skilled guy, and Isara-kun, who’s pretty much a jack of all trades. Hidaka-kun, Akehoshi-kun and I are almost always here, but Isara-kun rarely comes to the station.”  
“Does he get sick easily?”  
“Oh, no, he always does fine! It’s just that he’s off doing solo investigations. Word has it he’s trying to grab as much information as possible about _fine_ , but I can’t confirm anything. It’s stuff that is supposed to be confidential, since the government keeps claiming mobs aren’t a problem in here.” Makoto sighed. “Corruption’s a nice thing, eh?” Pause. “Anyway, Hidaka-kun knows the most about Isara-kun’s investigations since he’s the only guy who gets to see his reports.”  
“ _fine_ , hm…”

Yuzuru seemed to be deep in thought.

“Fushimi-kun? Is there something wrong?”  
“Ah… well…” Pause. He looked down. “I have lost people close to me because of _fine_.”  
“I guess we all have, in some way.”  
“Either way, I think it is admirable for Isara-san to investigate on such a dangerous criminal organization alone. If it were me, I would probably be frozen in fear. But… I have joined the police because I decided to change. I want to be able to fight for justice and punish _fine_ for their actions.”  
“I understand you, Fushimi-kun. All of us here, in some way, want to stop _fine_ from committing their crimes. We want to bring back justice, even if policemen like us are just considered nobodies by the government.”

The two work colleagues didn’t speak for a long moment. Makoto started feeling tense. He looked around and, suddenly, remembered that a pile of paperwork was waiting for Yuzuru and him.

“A-Anyway, let’s stop talking about _fine_ and let’s work on all of that paperwork, or else Hidaka-kun won’t be pleased with us. I wouldn’t like you to be called a slacker on your first day.”  
“By the way, Yuuki-san…”  
“Yes?”  
“I brought my uniform with me as I was asked to,” he held up a bag which Makoto hadn’t noticed before while saying this, “but you haven’t told me to change yet.”  
“Ah, that’s right! Sorry, it’s my first time showing a new recruit around, so I forgot about that. You should know your way around now to know where you can change, right?”  
“Yes, I think I can find it again on my own.”  
“Okay. Then get changed and we’ll start working.”

Yuzuru walked away, and Makoto sighed as he sat down at his desk, overwhelmed by the feeling that he must have messed up the new recruit’s welcome tour. He closed his eyes for a few seconds, trying to clear his mind a bit, then he resumed the paperwork he had started before Yuzuru’s arrival. He had only just resumed his work when Yuzuru came back and sat on his desk, with that same serene smile on his face.

During the day, Yuzuru met some of the colleagues Makoto had mentioned, Subaru Akehoshi and Hokuto Hidaka. They had apparently gone after a shooter on the loose, only for the chief of another police station, Chiaki Morisawa, to arrest the shooter in front of them. Subaru kept gushing over how cool Chiaki had been, while Hokuto kept trying to keep him focused on more important things.  
The day had gone well despite the fact that Yuzuru hadn’t seen the member that could interest his master, Tori, and the President the most.  
As he was walking home to meet Tori, Yuzuru felt his phone vibrate. It was a text from his master himself.

_“Hurry up, Slave! We have a job to take care of!”_

Yuzuru could do nothing but submit to Tori’s orders. He ran back home.

When he arrived home, panting and trying to catch his breath, Yuzuru could see Tori glare at him as he was petting his dog King.  
“You’re late, Yuzuru.”  
Yuzuru said excuses in between breaths. “F-Forgive me, Bocchan. I had never expected police paperwork would take so much time to complete.” Pause. He could finally breathe properly. “I learned something that might be in our interest, however.”  
“Ah? What is it?”  
“One of the members of the police station I have infiltrated seems to be investigating on us all alone.”  
“And you found that on your first day?”  
“It was one of the policemen in the station who told me about it.”  
“You’re lucky to be surrounded by idiots, then. All you’ll need is to play with your charms and you’ll get all the information we need! … If you have any charm, that is.” Tori smiled. “Anyway, who’s the guy who’s stupid enough to investigate on us all by himself?”  
“I only have a name and nothing more relevant yet. I will try to learn more about that man and what he has found about us before I report more on him.”  
“Fair enough.” Pause. “At least, I know our decision to spy on the police wasn’t a useless one. I’ll have to tell the President about it, I’m sure he’ll be delighted. Speaking of the President!” Tori got up, looking like he was ready to lead a march. “We need to hurry up, we have an affair to solve for the president. Look, to save us some time, I even carefully prepared your tools in the bag over there. You can check it if you want!” 

Tori pointed to a bag in the corner of the room. Yuzuru took it and opened it. It was filled to the brim with firearms ranging from mini guns to machine guns as well as ammo. He smiled, then put the bag down to go to his room and change himself. He would stick out like a sore thumb if he wasn’t wearing his usual outfit for the job, after all.  
When he came back to Tori’s side, he took the bag, now ready to go. The butler followed his young master into the car that would lead them to their business place.

Nothing was said between the both of them during the drive. It was only when they were about to arrive that Tori addressed Yuzuru with a smile on his face.

“I hope you’ll live up to your name once again, _fine_ ’s killing machine.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the biggest challenge about this chapter was to write yuzuru bc i keep forgetting he's an actual character in ensemble stars
> 
> also i think that for the chapters i'll alternate between some focus on a certain mob & a focus on what's gonna be the "justice side" basically, expect a few more somewhat introductive chapters in the future

**Author's Note:**

> I'm not even sure if this AU has been done already (it probably has, I'm just a dense fucker who doesn't frequent AO3 much so I'd be oblivious to it ever existing) but I'm gonna have fun writing this. Chapter 1 is pretty tame, but the more we'll go on, the more it will turn into a chaotic mess so be prepared I guess.
> 
> This will also be a first attempt into writing a lot of characters I haven't written yet, so feel free to judge me for it


End file.
